


Men and Magic in Middle-earth, and Writing Magic in Derivative Works - An Essay

by Aelaer



Series: Adventures Throughout the Multiverse [2]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Deconstruction, Essays, Gen, I wrote this for a crossover of all things, Magic, Meta, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 04:44:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18865981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aelaer/pseuds/Aelaer
Summary: A dissection of magic as used by Men in Middle-earth. This is a possible explanation for the inner workings of Arda's magic and a way for a magical mortal user to use magic while still feeling plausible within what evidence that canon presents. For reference for anyone looking to explore the race of Men using magic in their derivative works taking place in Middle-earth.





	Men and Magic in Middle-earth, and Writing Magic in Derivative Works - An Essay

**Author's Note:**

> This essay, which bloomed from a rather ridiculous story, is for all my fellow Tolkien lore nerds out there and for anyone who enjoys the breakdown of fictional worlds and their ‘rules’.
> 
> The essay is broken into four sections:  
> I. A Brief History of Middle-earth Magic  
> II. Canon Evidence of Magical Use By Men in LOTR  
> III. Man and Magic: The Hypothetical Sorcerer For Your Derivative Needs  
> IV. Conclusion
> 
> My thanks to my friend Ilca for nitpicking the lore and asking the hard questions.

**I. A Brief History of Middle-earth Magic**

Magic and sorcery in Middle-earth is convoluted and often contradictory across texts. In  _ The Hobbit _ it is an almost everyday ability consisting of several bird species that can communicate with other races, a shapeshifter, Dwarvish spells for the troll’s treasure hoard, a talking purse, Gandalf’s colorful smoke rings that can fly where he wills around Bilbo’s house, and so on. This can feel contradictory to the magic we see in  _ The Lord of the Rings _ which does not seem nearly as frivolous; the magic here comes off as being either part of the natural world, powers held by wizards and incredibly powerful Elves, and powers imbued within items, primarily by non-mortal peoples.

These tonal changes have a well known reason:  _ The Hobbit _ was put to paper and published before it was part of the Middle-earth mythos Tolkien was penning in his earlier drafts of what would eventually be known as  _ The Silmarillion _ . It was only as he wrote  _ LOTR _ that he made  _ The Hobbit _ part of the same world (to the point that there were some significant changes made to the book, especially in ‘Riddles in the Dark’, between the first edition and the second edition. The second edition of  _ The Hobbit _ was published in 1951, a couple years before  _ LOTR _ was first published).

Regardless, by the time  _ The Silmarillion _ is published in the late 70s, the reader base is left with three different books that all use magic in pretty different ways. Other essays cover the examples of overall magic within the legendarium, so for this essay I want to concentrate specifically on the aspect my story covers: mortal Men and their use of sorcery, and the possibilities of their powers as derived from canon examples. The primary purpose of this write up is to not only help myself in developing a mortal magic user in Middle-earth, but to give others some ideas on how to portray mortals using magic in Middle-earth-based fanfiction, RP, tabletop gaming, and other fannish mediums based on what we know of magic use in lore.

According to Letter 155 (dated late 1954) in  _ The Letters of JRR Tolkien _ by Humphrey Carpenter, Tolkien writes that he has been “far too casual about ‘magic’ and especially the use of the word”. He goes on to explain two different sources of magic within the world, using the terms  _ magia _ and  _ goeteia _ to explain the differences between lighting a wet piece of wood ( _ magia _ ) and the ability to instill fear by will alone ( _ goeteia _ ). Both could be used for good or evil; the former produces more immediate, efficient results, while the latter is a more long-term effect and dealt more in the matters of illusion and will. A possible example of ‘good’  _ goeteia _ is the enchantment Melian put upon the borders of Doriath in  _ The Silmarillion _ . Within  _ LOTR _ , the obvious signs of  _ goeteia _ was primarily seen used by the Enemy with “[Sauron’s] goeteia [used] to terrify and subjugate”, but as Tolkien mentioned, they were made good or evil due to their usage, and were not inherently good or evil in themselves.

More importantly for the purpose of this analysis is the last paragraph within the letter, which reads that “a difference in the use of ‘magic’ in this story is that it is not to be come by by ‘lore’ or spells; but is in inherent power not possessed or attainable by Men as such.” He goes on to say that Aragorn’s own innate powers likely come from his bloodline as a direct descendant of Lúthien, who was half-Elf, half-Maia (and so, very much not mortal upon birth). Does this mean a Man using magic is outright against canon?

Not exactly. There are three things to consider with this letter. The first point is even as he stated that Men were unable to do magic, he wrote on the side of this draft, “But the Númenóreans used 'spells' in making swords?” He recognized that his published works contradicted this thought process. The second point to consider is that the letter was not actually sent; it is a passage from a draft of Letter 154 and was not included in the final drafting of his response. It is possible he discarded its contents due to the inconsistency with Men and magic being yet unresolved. The third and perhaps most important thing to consider is that the statement contradicts what was published in  _ The Lord of the Rings _ in more than one place.

It is especially this final fact that leads me to discard the idea that Men were incapable of learning magic and that this fragment of the letter itself was an idea that ended up being discarded by Tolkien. Ultimately we, as creators of derivative works, look for sources that best fit the story we are trying to tell while remaining faithful to the world it resides in, and if the primary sources are the published, finished works within his lifetime, then  _ The Hobbit _ and  _ The Lord of the Rings _ hold the ultimate authority in regards to canon (and the former could be considered partially suspect to narrative embellishment on Bilbo’s part; we know it exists because the first edition of  _ The Hobbit _ told a different story about winning the Ring from Gollum, which was the story Bilbo told everyone, though Gandalf eventually managed to get the truth).

Conclusion: Men can and did use magic in Middle-earth, though their number was few by the end of the Third Age.

 

**II. Canon Evidence of Magical Use By Men in _LOTR_**

The majority of the canonical examples of Men’s use of magic are primarily involved with some sort of spellwork laid upon items. We first see this in action with Aragorn on Weathertop, when he took the Morgul-blade hilt and “sang over it a slow song in a strange tongue”. Later on in  _ The Two Towers _ , Faramir gives Frodo and Sam two staves made of lebethron, and says that, “a virtue has been set upon them of finding and returning”. 

While there is no empirical proof that this “virtue” was not simply superstition, there is definitive proof that the kingdoms of the Dúnedain (Gondor and Arnor) could put some sort of power within items. Merry’s sword is a dagger of Westernesse; after he stabbed the Witch-king, Tolkien wrote, "No other blade, not though mightier hands had wielded it, would have dealt that foe a wound so bitter, cleaving the undead flesh, breaking the spell that knit his unseen sinews to his will." This implies that it had a power beyond the average blade and that it is quite possible that Éowyn would not have been successful with her normal sword without Merry’s contribution, prophecies aside.

A potential item of magic is the Seat of Amon Hen, a stone chair at the summit of Amon Hen built by the Men of Gondor several hundreds, if not thousands of years before the events of  _ LOTR _ . Frodo sits upon it and sees many far off visions, and is focused upon by both Sauron and an unknown voice (later found to be Gandalf) while there. While it is certainly possible this all happened because he had the Ring on, at no other point is his use of the Ring within  _ Fellowship of the Ring _ such a beacon to Sauron. Further evidence to the chair having its own power happens in the next chapter, when Aragorn spares a moment in his search for Frodo to sit in the same spot. There Tolkien writes that when he looked out, “...the sun seemed darkened, and the world dim and remote.” Nothing in the text indicates that this was a phenomenon happening across the region; it is only when Aragorn sits here, quickly after Sauron’s shadow descended upon the area in its search for Frodo, that the world becomes ‘dim’. It is entirely possible that the Seat of Amon Hen’s powers were dampened by Sauron’s earlier presence.

Beyond these items are other pieces of evidence that men have the ability to do magic. When Gandalf was stuck at the West Gate of Moria, he says, “I once knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves or Men or Orcs, that was ever used for such a purpose” indicates that even Men could make spells to conceal or hold a door shut— and that there were enough door-shutting spells to make their memorization an impressive feat. Beyond learned spells, several people within Middle-earth were known to have the innate ability for foresight, including Malbeth the Seer and Aragorn’s grandmother and mother, Ivorwen and Gilraen.

While the following piece of evidence is not part of  _ The Lord of the Rings _ , it does connect to Sauron and the title given to him by the peoples of Greenwood before it became known as Mirkwood: ‘The Necromancer’. That the word exists in Middle-earth in the first place speaks of some beings having the power to communicate and command the spirits of the dead that have yet to leave Arda; we know for certain that the Witch-king has the ability to command them due to the spirits he set upon the Barrow-downs to possess the bones of the dead after Cardolan’s fall.

There is a passage within ‘Laws and Customs of the Eldar’, published in  _ Morgoth’s Ring _ , that touches on necromancy and its practice, which generally denounces the practice of the living communicating with the dead, or “Unbodied”. The passage further points to necromancy being an ability that Men were able to learn. “To call on [the Unbodied] is folly. To attempt to master them and to make them servants of one own's will is wickedness. Such practices are of Morgoth; and the necromancers are of the host of Sauron his servant.” The servants of Sauron are never Elves, but both Orcs and Men. Further evidence points to Men being part of his host of necromancers within  _ The Silmarillion _ in a passage describing the origin of the Nazgûl: “Men proved easier to ensnare. Those who used the Nine Rings became mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old.”

Finally, the greatest piece of evidence we have in canon that magic could be used by Men is the presence of the only sorcerer within  _ The Lord of the Rings _ that did not bear a Ring of Power at any point of time: The Mouth of Sauron. He is described as thus upon meeting the Host of the West in front of the Black Gate: “... yet this was no Ringwraith but a living man. The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dûr he was, and his name is remembered in no tale; for he himself had forgotten it, and he said: 'I am the Mouth of Sauron.' But it is told that he was a renegade, who came of the race of those that are named the Black Númenóreans; for they established their dwellings in Middle-earth during the years of Sauron's domination, and they worshipped him, being enamoured of evil knowledge. And he entered the service of the Dark Tower when it first rose again, and because of his cunning he grew ever higher in the Lord's favour; and he learned great sorcery, and knew much of the mind of Sauron; and he was more cruel than any orc.”

It is largely due to the Mouth of Sauron’s presence that sorcery is accepted as a feat that Men can learn, though by the end of the Third Age it is largely seen as a tool used for evil purposes, at least under the name of ‘sorcery’. The word ‘virtue’ was applied to items belonging to the people of Rohan and Gondor that had capabilities beyond the usual, and in the horn’s case the presence of runes is made known to the reader. The power of words and runes is well established in Tolkien’s legendarium elsewhere, and it seems that Men can harness their power just as well as other races if they have the knowledge to do so.

 

**III. Man and Magic: The Hypothetical Sorcerer For Your Derivative Needs**

Unfortunately we have very little practical examples of magical use by a mortal sorcerer, good or evil, in the canon texts. The closest we get to knowing one is the Mouth of Sauron, the Black Númenórean that was taught such arts by his master. Other than the possibility that he was given an unnaturally long life, we know nothing else of his abilities. We also know that some men had the ability of necromancy and some other spellwork that could be applied on items, but the mechanics behind these feats are unknown. At this point forward we can only speculate on the practical aspects based on what evidence we have to make the most ‘canon’ magic character possible.

From this point forward I break down building the character into four sections: origin and allegiances, the basic rules of magic, everyday magic, and combat magic.

  1. Origin and Allegiances  
All mortal characters with magical abilities that are mentioned by name have Númenórean ancestry, whether it is those with innate foresight or those that are taught sorcery. Does that mean that the character has to have similar ancestry in order to do anything magical? Not necessarily. While all specific characters mentioned within _LOTR_ that have magical abilities have some sort of Númeórean ancestry, nothing within canon suggests that other people are incapable of learning the ‘science’ behind the magic of Middle-earth for several abilities. While foresight may be something someone is born with, the Mouth of Sauron was specifically _taught_ great sorcery by Sauron. It is possible that people with stronger Númenórean heritage found it a bit easier to master, but this does not mean that other Men could not also learn it.  
  
Could your sorcerer be either ‘good’ or ‘evil’? Yes, absolutely. As said in _Letters 155_ , magic in its nature was neither good nor evil; what made it ‘good’ or ‘evil’ was the user’s intent. Within Tolkien’s writings, the difference between magics lies within the wording. The word ‘sorcery’ is used as it is often used in medieval manuscripts and connotes a connection with evil beings, such as Morgoth or Sauron. ‘Sorcerers’ are doers of evil acts such as necromancy. A good synonym for the evil-aligned sorcerer or sorceress is ‘warlock’ or ‘witch’, though it should be noted that Tolkien himself did not use the word ‘warlock’ and he used ‘witch’ with its archaic meaning (from Old English _wicca_ "sorcerer, wizard, man who practices witchcraft or magic”).  
  
On the other side, the word ‘virtue’ is used to describe items with unusual, magical properties. Gandalf supposedly lays an ‘enchantment’ upon Barliman Butterbur’s ale, and the Bree-lander later describes it as a ‘good word’. Furthermore, the word ‘enchantment’ is used to describe the acts of the Maia Melian and her daughter Lúthien in _The Silmarillion_. An enchanter, however, is not necessarily the opposite of a sorcerer; it has a more neutral tone within the texts. The words ‘spells’ and ‘magic’ are of similar neutrality, and the latter term is less precise than other phrases.  
  
If the magic user is a good-aligned person that is part of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth before the destruction of the Ring, it is very unlikely they would call themselves a sorcerer due to its connotation with servants of the Enemy; other terms they may consider are ‘lore-master’ or ‘scholar’ with less emphasis on the ability to do magic, due to the taint Sauron’s abilities have put upon the word. It is also very possible that someone who called themselves that was also working in the field of what we in the modern world call ‘science’, and that these scientific feats were not differentiated from what we readers consider magic; unlike in other fantasy worlds, there is no evidence that science and magic are opposing forces within Middle-earth.  
  
Let us consider generally good-aligned characters from societies outside of those focused upon in _LOTR_ (and in a lesser sense, _The Hobbit_ ) for a moment. If they speak the Common Tongue (or, in other words, the language the derivative story is written in, such as English with the original books), the character’s comfort in using the word ‘sorcerer’ would likely depend on their knowledge of the sorcerers that serve Morgoth or Sauron. Alternative synonyms in these societies that were not expanded upon by Tolkien that fit the etymology of Tolkien’s general vocabulary could be, alongside ‘lore-master’ and ‘scholar’, are ‘shaman’ (origin Germanic, Russian, Tungus, potentially Chinese), ‘enchanter’ (Old French), ‘conjurer’ (Old French) or even ‘priest’ (Anglo-Saxon), depending on the origins of the character. Tolkien preferred to use vocabulary with an Anglo-Saxon base, but he used other loan words (such as enchantment and conjurer) frequently enough that it will not make the canon-conscientious writer seem ‘lore breaking’ in their choice of vocabulary, leastways in my opinion.  
  
  

  2. The Basic Rules of Magic  
In Middle-earth, there are some clear trends shown with how magic works. As Tolkien mentioned in _Letters_ , he broke it down into _magia_ and _goeteia_. Perhaps the simplest way to categorize them would be that _magia_ creates immediate, physical effects while _goeteia_ lies within the realms of illusion and individual willpower.  
  
We can categorize these two magics even further for derivative purposes. Within Tolkien’s Middle-earth there are two realms: the Seen and the Unseen. They are similar to the concepts of our reality’s physical realm and the speculative astral plane. As stated within _LOTR_ , many of the older Eldar (of the Elves) live and see in both words. The One Ring’s most well-known power — invisibility — is in actuality taking its bearer from the Seen realm to the Unseen realm, which is why the Ringwraiths see Frodo clearly when they put on the Ring, as they are largely part of the Unseen world and need their black robes to be seen within the physical world. We also know that spirits that refused the call of Mandos remained upon Middle-earth as part of the Unseen world.  
  
Drawing from the two types of magic and these two realms, we can say that _magia_ primarily affects the Seen realm, while _goeteia_ has a predominant effect upon the Unseen realm with some crossover into the Seen world depending on the spell itself. Enchantments that remain primarily in the Unseen would be those that affect the spirit and mind, such as ones that affect perception and emotion (like Melian’s Girdle and Sauron’s ability to inflict despair upon others, such as with Denethor through the palantír).  
  
Another important thing to note is that within Middle-earth, Words are Power. This is especially displayed with _The Silmarillion_ , but there are examples of this within _The Lord of the Rings_ , primarily with Gandalf’s abilities (such as his ‘word of command’ upon Caradhras to create a fire). This translates into runes and letters also having the ability to bear power; there are the tengwar letters upon the Ring, the letters upon the Doors of Moria, and the unnamed runes on the Horn of Rohan (originally crafted by Dwarves). It is very likely that almost all spellwork, particularly in terms of _magia_ usage, would be spoken or sung aloud, especially by mortal magic users. Spoken words in Middle-earth are too powerful not to take advantage of this.  
  
Because of the power of words, it is also likely that near all items with magical abilities had some sort of runes or letters etched into them that infused them with this specific power. The ‘how’ remains undetermined, but something within speech and writing itself likely has some connection to the inner forces of Arda. This might be because Arda was originally created with the Music of the Ainur, which can be considered a language in itself. We can only speculate.  
  
Finally, one rule that is the most canonical out of all these is that ‘something’ cannot be created from ‘nothing’. Gandalf tells Legolas on Caradhras, “‘If Elves could fly over mountains, they might fetch the Sun to save us… But I must have something to work on. I cannot burn snow.’” Later on within the chapter he manages to create a green and blue flame with a spoken spell and by thrusting his wooden staff into the ‘midst’ of a piece of wood. One can speculate that he was able to ‘work’ with the amount of friction the staff created with wood and the resulting sparks; from those sparks his ‘word of command’ caused it to remain and latch onto the material quickly. The presence of the wood as a tool and its success suggests that, for a very powerful magic user, it would take very little of a resource to cause a greater amount of the resource— but the initial resource is still necessary for the spell to work.  
  
  

  3. Everyday Magic  
From this point forward we move into a very speculatory area of the things the character can do in Middle-earth with magic on a day-to-day basis. From the evidence based in the text, magic is not used frivolously within Middle-earth; even in _The Hobbit_ the most frivolous we see is Gandalf’s gravity-defying smoke rings of different colors, and as a wizard he would likely have an easier time tapping into such powers than a mortal Man.  
  
Still, this does not mean that it is nonexistent from everyday life. To determine what sort of things could be done, we need to consider the mechanics of magic itself. We have already determined that _goeteia_ primarily affects the Unseen world, which touches upon both willpower and the spirit. As _goeteia_ tends to be more long-term, I suspect everyday magic would be more short term and within the Seen realm.  
  
So let’s examine the possible mechanics of _magia_ magic. In the real world, our physical universe is made up of atoms and molecules (which are two or more atoms). For the sake of ease, let’s presume Middle-earth’s Seen realm works similarly. Generally speaking, these atoms or molecules as solids are densely packed together and move very little; as liquids they are usually less packed together and move a bit more; finally, as gases they have the most movement and space. There are other states of matter, but for this we’ll just look at these three most common types.  
  
In order for these elements to change form, energy is required in some capacity. Molecules have melting points, freezing points, vaporization points, condensation points, sublimation points, and/or deposition points depending on the molecule itself. These physical reactions rely on absorbing or releasing energy and do not change the chemical composition of the molecules itself. We see this every day in the form of water, ice, and water vapor, all changed with an increase or decrease of energy which takes the form of heat. In contrast, a lot more energy is generally required in chemical reactions, which changes the molecular form of the element entirely by breaking and/or forming new bonds between atoms and molecules. This is commonly seen in the real world in the long-term effects of oxygen molecules upon iron, which creates rust.  
  
That’s all well and good, but what does that have to do with magic? In my mind, a magician or sorcerer that is living in a world made of atoms has the ability to shift energy to or from molecular structures to cause change without the assistance of machinery to facilitate the energy transfer. In Middle-earth, it could be said that this magic user has learned to manipulate the Music that Arda was formed by to shift this energy around, very likely using spoken or written word to help facilitate this.  
  
Consider also that each molecular form would have different properties and thus different levels of difficulty in changing it from one form to another; it takes a lot more energy to melt steel (1370°C/2500°F) than it does to melt an ice cube (0°C/32°F). While it may be possible for a magic user to generate enough energy to do so, but the energy expended in the venture would not make it practical to use. The energy may be too great to handle for some and may be considered only to be used as a last ditch effort, especially without the aid of something like fire.  
  
That all said, what are everyday things a magic user might do with this energy manipulation? It would likely be used in small capacities to the point that those who are not paying attention might not even notice it. Some examples of potential everyday magic include:  
  

    * Causing a fire in a hearth to expand much more quickly than it normally would from a small flame. When combustible fuel (such as wood) is in contact with a large energy source (often taking the form of heat), the ignition temperature is hit and results in a hot gas; flames are the visual result of the heated gas created by the fuel. Burning fuel reacts with oxygen in the surrounding air to release heat and combustion products such as smoke and embers. Hypothetically, a magic user could speed up the process by rapidly increasing the energy in the burning area, as well as shifting air (and more oxygen) towards the fuel in the process.  
  

    * Shifting air to push away fumes or a bad smell. These so-called scent molecules are volatilized (vaporized) and thus are in a gaseous state. Shifting air would be a matter of spending energy to disperse these molecules. More energy could be used to even cause a chemical reaction to these molecules to cause them to change composition completely.  
  

    * Draw water from the air. This would require an atmosphere with enough water content within the air to draw it from, as well as a reason as to why the magic user wants to expend that sort of energy in changing the water vapor from gas to liquid as opposed to going to a well or river.  
  

    * Heating or cooling an enclosed, small area. This relies on either increasing or decreasing the amount of heat within an area to change its temperature. This would not likely work well (if at all) when competing against direct summer sunlight or a blizzard. 
  
If there was any sort of reaction that others might see or feel, it would be mostly likely in chemical reactions and take the form of light or heat should the energy created by new chemical bonds be less than the energy required to break the original bonds. Physical reactions may not see any visual changes beyond the act of the physical reaction.  
  
What about wound care? Can your sorcerer magic a wound away? From what examples we have in canon, no. Wound care within the lore was very standard and any magical healing was done with the spirit and the Unseen world and without any physical changes that _magia_ brings.  
  
It does seem possible that athelas was especially potent with _goeteia_ magic as used by Aragorn, Elrond, and others when healing the spirit, and in turn could better hasten physical healing by those who knew how to use its properties (which would not have been many amongst Men, considering that the best healers in Gondor did not know how to use athelas against the Black Breath; it is possible that a Man who was well-versed in _goeteia_ could use it as Aragorn did with his learned and innate _goeteia_ abilities, but at this point, it’s pure speculation).  
  
Regardless, while it is possible that some _goeteia_ could have been used to help encourage healing, magic users should not be singing at wounds to stitch them closed and they are not going to get rid of bad pneumonia with only a spoken spell. If someone is stabbed through the kidney, they are very much dead and nothing can save them in Middle-earth. If Aragorn and Lúthien are using bandages, your character should be using them as well.  
  
Heating or cooling an enclosed, small area. This relies on either increasing or decreasing the amount of heat within an area to change its temperature. This would not likely work well (if at all) when competing against direct summer sunlight or a blizzard.  
  
  

  4. Combat Magic  
Like everyday magic, this section is largely speculatory due to lack of magic combat by mortals in Middle-earth. As established previously, the mechanics used by this Middle-earth magic user with _magia_ in the Seen world is shifting and harnessing energy to cause molecular change. We have also established that in Middle-earth, both written and spoken words have their own power (and thus, energy) to make things happen. We will look further here into the mechanics of magical combat with both _magia_ and _goeteia_ , some basic guidelines, and what a magic user likely could not do.  
  
Spells are one of few canonical elements mentioned in _LOTR_ , and due to the power of words in Middle-earth, it is not a long shot to believe that the majority of spells were spoken aloud. Considering that most of Gandalf’s spells are of this nature, it is a safer path to take with a mortal magic user. The only exception to this is perhaps when runes are used in lieu of spoken words, particularly when creating items with magical properties. I imagine most mortal-made magical items had some form of runes upon them imbued with that power.  
  
The use of _magia_ would be very similar to what was established in everyday magic with only more harmful effects. Creating large fires from but a spark is an obvious example; the shifting of air to create large gusts of wind due to extreme pressure differences is another possibility. So long as there is enough water present, the manipulation of water to vaporize or freeze can also be very potent (though, if the water is connected to a source that eventually goes to the Sea, some users might find some difficulty with this due to the Vala Ulmo’s and his servants’ presence within those bodies, depending on what their intent is or how great their shifts in the water are).  
  
I find it least likely or most difficult for magic users to shift solid states such as ground; the movement of solid objects would expend such a large amount of energy that it would be more practical to use sources that take less energy, such as gases and liquids. That said, it may be possible to manipulate air to lift up solid items, though I believe this would take more practice and control than sending a gust of wind towards one general direction.  
  
More dangerous to a magic user’s opponents than much of _magia_ , however, is _goeteia_. It has the potential to be very powerful, especially with clever magic users. The most obvious form of combat regarding _goeteia_ magic for the evil sorcerers is the use of necromancy. For wights, the presence of dead physical forms is required. Without the dead body, they are unhoused spirits. Both can be considered the “Unbodied” mentioned previously and it is possible to make them servants of one own’s will, as the Witch-king did with the dead souls he sent to haunt the Barrow-downs. The amount of power this would take is considerable and this would not be the work of any novice. The people in Middle-earth who dabbled in necromancy would fall under the lines of ‘evil’, at least according to what precedents Tolkien established. It also seems possible for these spirits to potentially break free of a necromancer’s will (and could make a very interesting plot for any derivative work).  
  
Also within _goeteia_ for combat is the potential to really damage the spirit due to the manipulation of emotion. Causing the spirit to feel increased panic, fear, or anger is a great way to get them to make a mistake in combat, and this was a tool heavily employed by the Ringwraiths within _LOTR_. If your enemy is too terrified to attack you, the battle is easily won.  
  
Illusions and changing perception are also a large component for _goeteia_ magic. The complexity of the illusion would likely depend on the strength and power of the sorcerer. A more basic illusion to cast upon an area would be a veil of darkness that absorbs light; this would be very difficult to do in an open area, but is certainly viable within an enclosed area with few light sources.  
  
A power that toes the line between both _magia_ and _goeteia_ is the power to cause pain through touch alone. Such a power could involve manipulation of either the spirit to believe that there is great pain, involve causing hurt to the actual physical body by exacting an unseen pressure somewhere upon or even within it, or a combination of the two.  
  
There are quite a few possibilities for what can be done within combat with magic. But what would be pushing it too far? To start, there is no signs of any ability for quick travel over great distances, so teleportation and flying are two very unlikely abilities. Potentially a magic user could try to solidify air molecules to make them more denser than himself, but the amount of energy that would expend would be little worth the effort and it likely could not be sustained long enough to make a difference in most scenarios. And as with everyday magic, combat magic should not create something out of nothing. There should be some sort of source before a flame is grown or water is used offensively. A sorcerer definitely should not be spawning any physical minions out of the aether. Visual effects simply for the sake of visual effects should be used sparingly; illusions take effort and energy, as all magic would.



 

**IV. Conclusion**

Should anyone get to the end of this long analysis, I hope you have found it of some use or at least an interesting read. As with many of Tolkien’s writings, several elements discussed within canonical evidence are open to several interpretations. This interpretation of Middle-earth magic simply allows those looking to expand their derivative works while still remaining within plausible canonical bounds the ability to do just that.

The practical application of magic within Middle-earth and its mechanics is, as mentioned, purely speculative. However, I found that having some basis in reality for the more ‘flashy’ elements of a sorcerer’s magic vital for me to form a character that could still fit within Middle-earth without feeling as if he was transplanted from another world.

The wonderful aspect of derivative works is that how you decide to incorporate magic in your story is entirely up to you. However you decide to use it, I hope you found this analysis interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> For those curious, I wrote this to figure out how to write magical combat in [this story.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8602444/chapters/19727560)
> 
> [I'm now on tumblr. woohoo.](https://aelaer.tumblr.com)


End file.
